Prior to World War I, the U.S. Navy was not a prominent factor in the foreign economy. However, it was World War I that brought about the true potential power of the U.S. Navy. After World War I, the U.S. Navy became a prominent instrument in the foreign policy of the world. The U.S.domination in the seas were not the result of sheer luck, but the result of hard work, and strong leadership.At the beginning of World War I in Europe, submarine warfare became a primary weapon against warships. Germanys attack on American ships soon affected trade relations between the U.S. and other countries. As a result of the United States inferiority to the rest of the naval world, Germany threatened the Untied States on the assumption that the U.S. would not have enough warships to launch an antisubmarine warfare against them in a war. This assumption later proved to be the downfall of the United States.One of the primary decisions that soon resulted in the United States having a navy second to none, was to initiate a 1916 building program that would last for ten years and would concentrate on building destroyers. The second, primary task of the U.S. Navy was to transport the American Expeditionary Forces into France to take control before the German armies on the eastern front. Finally, it was the undertaking of the U.S. Navy in World War I to lay 56,600 mines between the Orkney Islands and the coasts of Norway. This act was unnecessary because this had little effect on the outcome of the war.As one can see, it was the naval influence of the foreign marine armies that brought brought the United States into the war. In the same manner, it was the naval influence of the United States also brought the United States out of the war. The attack of American ships by foreign countries, therefore disrupting the trade of America with other countries, brought us into the war. The attacks brought the United States to the realization that we are not...
